Realty Income 10-K 2023-12-31

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ Annual report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, or

☐ Transition report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Commission File Number 1-13374

REALTY INCOME CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

11995 El Camino Real, San Diego, California 92130

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (858) 284-5000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," “accelerated filer,” "smaller reporting company," and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C.7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. o

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant's executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

At June 30, 2023, the aggregate market value of the Registrant’s shares of common stock, $0.01 par value, held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was $42.3 billion based upon the last reported sale price of $59.79 per share on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 2023, the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter. The determination of affiliate status for purposes of this calculation is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

There were 861,123,757 shares of common stock outstanding as of February 15, 2024.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Part III, Items 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 incorporate by reference certain specific portions of the definitive Proxy Statement for Realty Income Corporation’s Annual Meeting expected to be held on May 17, 2024, to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A. Only those portions of the proxy statement which are specifically incorporated by reference herein shall constitute a part of this annual report.

REALTY INCOME CORPORATION

Index to Form 10-K

December 31, 2023

PART I

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, unless the context otherwise requires, references to “Realty Income,” the “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us” refer to Realty Income Corporation and our subsidiaries.

THE COMPANY

Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company®, is an S&P 500 company and member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats® index for having increased its dividend every year for over 25 consecutive years. We invest in people and places to deliver dependable monthly dividends that increase over time. We are structured as a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), requiring us to annually distribute at least 90% of our taxable income (excluding net capital gains) in the form of dividends to our stockholders. The monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow generated from real estate in which we own or hold interests in under long-term net lease agreements with our commercial clients.

Realty Income was founded in 1969, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE": O) in 1994. Over the past 55 years, Realty Income has been acquiring and managing freestanding commercial properties that generate rental revenue under long-term net lease agreements with our commercial clients. As of December 31, 2023, we owned or held interests in 13,458 properties located in the United States ("U.S.") and Europe.

On January 23, 2024, we closed on our previously announced merger with Spirit Realty Capital, Inc. ("Spirit", formerly NYSE: SRC), which is further described in note 21, Subsequent Events, to the consolidated financial statements. The Spirit portfolio consisted of 2,018 U.S. retail, industrial, and other properties across 49 states. With assets that are highly complementary to our existing portfolio, this transaction enhances the diversification and depth our real estate portfolio and will allow us to strengthen our longstanding relationships with existing clients and curate new ones.

BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY AND STRATEGY

We believe that actively managing a diversified portfolio of commercial properties under long-term, net lease agreements produces consistent and predictable income. A net lease typically requires the client to be responsible for monthly rent and certain property operating expenses including property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. In addition, clients of our properties typically pay rent increases based on: (1) fixed increases, (2) increases tied to inflation (typically subject to ceilings), or (3) additional rent calculated as a percentage of the clients’ gross sales above a specified level. We believe that a portfolio of properties under long-term net lease agreements with our commercial clients generally produces a more predictable income stream than many other types of real estate portfolios, while continuing to offer the potential for growth in rental income.

Diversification is also a key component of our investment philosophy. We believe that diversification of the portfolio by client, industry, geography, and property type leads to more consistent and predictable income for our stockholders by reducing vulnerability that can come with any single concentration. Our investment activities have led to a diversified property portfolio and as of December 31, 2023, we owned or held interests in 13,458 properties located in all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom ("U.K."), France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain and doing business in 86 industries.

As we look to continue to expand geographically across Europe, we focus upon building relationships with new multinational clients that seek a real estate partner with an expanding geographic footprint.

Investment Strategy

We seek to acquire, invest in and develop high-quality real estate that our clients consider important to the successful operation of their businesses. We generally seek to own or hold interests in commercial real estate that has some or all of the following characteristics:

• Properties in markets or locations important to our clients;

• Properties with strong demographic attributes or that we deem to be profitable for our clients;

• Properties with real estate valuations that approximate replacement costs;

• Properties with rental or lease payments that approximate market rents for similar properties;

• Properties that can be purchased with the simultaneous execution or assumption of long-term net lease agreements, offering both current income and the potential for future rent increases;

• Properties that leverage relationships with clients, sellers, investors, or developers as part of a long-term strategy; and

• Properties that leverage our proprietary insights, including those in locations and geographic markets we expect to remain strong or strengthen in the future.

We typically seek to invest in properties or portfolios of properties owned or leased by clients that are already or could become leaders in their respective businesses supported by mechanisms including (but not limited to) occupancy of prime real estate locations, pricing, merchandise assortment, service, quality, economies of scale, consumer branding, e-commerce, and advertising. We have an internal team dedicated to sourcing such opportunities, often using our relationships with various clients, owners/developers, brokers, and advisers to uncover and secure transactions. We also undertake thorough research and analysis to identify what we consider to be appropriate property locations, clients, and industries for investment. This research expertise is instrumental to uncovering investment opportunities in markets where we believe we can add value.

In selecting potential investments, we generally look for clients with the following attributes:

• Reliable and sustainable cash flow, including demonstrated economic resiliency;

• Revenue and cash flow from multiple sources;

• Are willing to sign a long-term lease (10 or more years); and

• Are large owners and users of real estate.

From a retail perspective, our investment strategy is to target clients that have a service, non-discretionary, and/or low-price-point component to their business. We target investments with clients who have demonstrated resiliency to e-commerce or have a strong omnichannel retail strategy, uniting brick-and-mortar and mobile browsing, both of which reflect the continued importance of last mile retail, the movement of goods to their final destination, real estate as part of a customer experience and supply chain strategy. Our overall investments (including last mile retail) are driven by an optimal portfolio strategy that, among other considerations, targets allocation ranges by asset class and industry. We review our strategy periodically and stress test our portfolio in a variety of positive and negative economic scenarios to ensure we deliver consistent earnings growth and value creation across economic cycles. As a result of the execution of this strategy, approximately 91% of our annualized retail contractual rent on December 31, 2023, is derived from our clients with a service, non-discretionary, and/or low price point component to their business. We believe these characteristics enhance the stability of the rental revenue generated from these properties.

After applying this investment strategy, we pursue those transactions where we believe we can achieve an attractive investment spread over our cost of capital and favorable risk-adjusted returns. We will continue to evaluate all investments for consistency with our objective of owning net lease assets.

Underwriting Strategy

To be considered for acquisition, investments must meet stringent underwriting requirements. We analyze investments based on one or more of the following criteria:

• Industry, client (including credit), and market conditions;

• Expected financial returns under various scenarios (including default);

• The value of real estate (based on replacement cost, comparative rental rates and alternative uses), or other collateral backing the client’s contractual obligations; and

• Store profitability for retail locations if profitability data is available or the importance of the real estate location to the operations of the clients’ business.

With regard to real estate investments, we typically own the land and building in which a client conducts its business or which are critical to the client’s ability to generate revenue. It has been our experience that clients must retain their profitable and critical locations to survive. Therefore, in the event of reorganization, we believe they are less likely to reject a lease of a profitable or critical location because this would terminate their right to use the property.

Thus, as the property owner, we believe that we should fare better than unsecured creditors of the same client in the event of reorganization. If a property is rejected by our client during reorganization, we own the property and can either lease it to a new client or sell the property. In addition, we believe that the risk of default on real estate leases

can be further mitigated by monitoring the performance of our clients’ individual locations and considering whether to proactively sell locations that meet our criteria for disposition.

We conduct comprehensive reviews of the business segments and industries in which our clients operate. In addition, prior to entering any transaction, our credit research team conducts a review of a client’s credit quality. The information reviewed may include reports and filings, including any public credit ratings, financial statements, debt and equity analyst reports, and reviews of corporate credit spreads, stock prices, market capitalization, and other financial metrics. We conduct due diligence, including financial reviews of the client, monitor our clients’ credit quality on an ongoing basis, and provide summaries of these findings to management.

At December 31, 2023, 39.6% of our total portfolio annualized contractual rent (as defined in "Property Portfolio Information" below) comes from properties leased to our investment grade clients, their subsidiaries or affiliated companies. At December 31, 2023, our top 20 clients (based on percentage of total portfolio annualized contractual rent) represented 40.2% of our annualized rent and 10 of these clients have investment grade credit ratings or are subsidiaries or affiliates of investment grade companies.

Asset Management Strategy

In addition to pursuing new properties for investment, we seek to increase earnings and dividends through active asset management.

Generally, our asset management efforts seek to achieve:

• Rent increases during and at the expiration of existing leases, when market conditions permit;

• Optimum exposure to certain clients, industries, and markets through re-leasing vacant properties and selectively selling properties;

• Maximum asset-level returns on properties that are renewed, re-leased or sold; and

• Additional value creation opportunities from the existing portfolio by leveraging internal capabilities to enhance individual properties, pursue alternative uses, and derive ancillary revenue.

As part of our ongoing credit and predictive analytics research, we continually monitor our portfolio for any changes that could affect the performance of our clients, our clients’ industries, and the real estate locations in which we have invested. We also regularly analyze our portfolio with a view towards optimizing its returns and enhancing its overall credit quality. Our active asset management strategy pursues asset sales when we believe the reinvestment of the sale proceeds will:

• Generate higher returns;

• Enhance the credit quality of our real estate portfolio;

• Extend our average remaining lease term; and/or

• Strategically decrease client, industry, or geographic concentration.

The active management of the portfolio is an essential component of our long-term strategy of maintaining high occupancy.

Capital Philosophy

Our goal is to deliver dependable monthly dividends to our stockholders that increase over time. Historically, we have met our principal short-term and long-term capital needs, including the funding of high-quality real estate acquisitions, property development, and capital expenditures, by issuing common stock, preferred stock, long-term unsecured notes and term loan borrowings. Over the long term, we believe that common stock should be the majority of our capital structure. We may issue common stock when we believe our share price is at a level that allows for the proceeds of an offering to be accretively invested into additional properties or to permanently finance properties that were initially financed by our revolving credit facility, commercial paper programs, or shorter-term debt securities. However, we cannot assure you that we will have access to the capital markets at all times and at terms that are acceptable to us.

Human Capital

We put great effort into cultivating an inclusive company culture. We seek to hire talented employees with diverse backgrounds and perspectives and look to foster an environment that allows for regular, open communication where capable team members have fulfilling careers and are encouraged to engage with and make a positive impact on our Company, its operations, its business partners, and the communities in which we operate.

Employees operate as "One Team" and, together, we are committed to providing an engaging work environment centered on our values of:

• Do the Right Thing,

• Take Ownership,

• Empower Each Other,

• Celebrate Differences, and

• Give More than We Take.

Recruitment, Development and Retention

At the heart of our corporate culture lie our dedicated employees, who form the foundation of our organization, representing our most valuable assets. As of December 31, 2023, our workforce comprises 418 professionals. The majority of our talented team members are recruited and hired from the communities in which we operate, embodying our commitment to local engagement. To extend the scope of our talent acquisition efforts, we have implemented various initiatives, including college and high school internship programs. Our comprehensive approach encompasses a wide range of strategies, such as engaging with affinity associations, utilizing targeted job advertisements, employing sourcing software that emphasizes diversity criteria, and fostering employee referrals. These measures ensure that we continually attract and embrace a diverse pool of candidates. Furthermore, we recognize that internal mobility within our organization unlocks yet another great source of talent. By encouraging our current employees to expand their skills and take on new challenges, we tap into a rich reservoir of potential that enhances our workforce's capabilities and reinforces our corporate culture.

We offer leadership development programs and train on critical topics such as ethics, insider trading, anti-discrimination and harassment, cybersecurity, diversity, equality and inclusion, safety, and other Company policies. We provide professional development opportunities for One Team members and provide assistance and support to employees who are pursuing job-related licenses, certifications, and continuing education.

Employee retention is essential for supporting a positive culture and productive workforce. Accordingly, we believe we offer competitive compensation and benefits packages. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their families, 401(k) or equivalent plans with Company matching opportunity; paid time-off or equivalent vacation; disability and life insurance; and, in years that the Company's performance meets certain goals, the ability to earn equity in the Company subject to applicable vesting periods.

Additional information regarding our human capital programs and initiatives is available in our annual Proxy Statement and Sustainability Report, both of which can be found on our website. Information on our website, including our Sustainability Report, is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DE&I)

We believe that the diversity of our One Team and our dedication to inclusion are foundational to our success. We continue DE&I training and learning sessions to build employee awareness and action while also encouraging open discussion amongst colleagues. Our DE&I initiatives are designed to enhance knowledge, deepen understanding, facilitate conversations on critical DE&I topics, encourage inclusive interactions, and cultivate a sense of belonging. In addition, we conduct pay equity analyses to help ensure equitable pay for employees who perform similar work under similar circumstances, regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity.

Employee Health, Safety and Wellbeing

We prioritize the health, safety, and wellbeing of our team members. Our wellbeing program is designed to empower employees through a range of activities and educational initiatives that contribute to both their personal and professional development. In fostering a healthy work environment, we promote work-life balance by offering flexible schedules and providing discounted fitness programs, paid family leave, parental leave, onsite lactation rooms, an infant-at-work program, employee health fairs, and an employee assistance program, among other programs and services.

Government Regulation

General

Compliance with various governmental regulations has an impact on our business, including our capital expenditures, earnings and competitive position, which can be material. We incur costs to monitor and take actions to comply with governmental regulations that are applicable to our business, which include, among others, federal securities laws and regulations, applicable stock exchange requirements, REIT and other tax laws and regulations, environmental and health and safety laws and regulations, local zoning, usage and other regulations relating to real property and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or ADA. We believe that our properties generally have the necessary permits and approvals needed and are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Environmental Matters

Investments in real property can create a potential for environmental liability. Federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations regulate releases of hazardous or toxic substances into the environment. While our tenants are generally primarily responsible for compliance with environmental laws and regulations, we as owner of property can face liability for environmental contamination created by the presence or discharge of hazardous substances on the property. We can face such liability regardless of our knowledge of the contamination; the timing of the contamination; the cause of the contamination; or the party responsible for the contamination of the property. We have no knowledge of any hazardous substances existing on our properties in violation of any applicable laws; however, no assurance can be given that such substances are not currently located on any of our properties.

Some of our properties contain, have contained, or are adjacent to or near properties that contain or have contained storage tanks for petroleum products or that involve or involved the use of hazardous or toxic substances. Under certain laws and regulations, a current or previous owner, operator or tenant may be required to investigate and clean-up hazardous or toxic substances or petroleum product releases or threats of releases, and may be held liable to a government entity or third parties for property damage and for investigation, clean-up and monitoring costs incurred by those parties in connection with actual or threatened contamination. These laws typically impose clean-up responsibility and liability without regard to fault, or whether or not the owner, operator or tenant knew of or caused the contamination. The liability may be joint and several for the full amount of the investigation, clean-up and monitoring costs incurred or to be incurred or actions to be undertaken, although a party held jointly and severally liable may seek contributions from other identified, solvent, responsible parties for their fair share toward these costs. In addition, strict environmental laws regulate a variety of activities that can occur on a property, including the storage of petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances, air emissions and water discharges. Such laws may impose fines or penalties for violations.

Environmental laws also govern asbestos-containing materials (“ACM”). Federal regulations require building owners and those exercising control over a building’s management to identify and warn, through signs and labels, of potential hazards posed by workplace exposure to ACM in their building. The regulations also have employee training, record keeping and due diligence requirements pertaining to ACM. Significant fines can be assessed for violation of these regulations, and we could be subject to lawsuits if personal injury from exposure to ACM occurs. Federal, state and local laws and regulations also govern the removal, encapsulation, disturbance, handling and/or disposal of ACM when those materials are in poor condition or in the event of construction, remodeling, renovation or demolition of a building. These laws may impose liability for improper handling or a release into the environment of ACM and may provide for fines to, and for third parties to seek recovery from, owners or operators of real properties for personal injury or improper work exposure associated with ACM. In addition, our properties may contain or develop harmful mold or other airborne contaminants. The presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants at any of our properties could require us to undertake a costly remediation to contain or remove the mold or other airborne contaminants from the affected property or increase indoor ventilation. Further, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants could expose us to liability from our tenants, employees of our tenants or others if property damage or personal injury occurs.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Our properties are generally required to comply with ADA. The ADA has separate compliance requirements for “public accommodations” and “commercial facilities,” but generally requires that buildings be made accessible to people with disabilities. Compliance with the ADA, as well as a number of additional federal, state and local laws and regulations, may require modifications to properties we currently own and any properties we purchase, or may restrict renovations of those properties. Noncompliance with these laws or regulations could result in fines or an award of damages to private litigants, as well as the incurrence of costs to make modifications to attain compliance. Although our tenants are generally responsible for compliance with the ADA and other similar laws or regulations, we could be held liable as the owner of the property for a failure of one of our tenants to comply with such laws or regulations. As of December 31, 2023, we have not received notice from any governmental authority, nor are we otherwise aware, of any non-compliance with the ADA that we believe would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position or results of operations.

Available Information

We maintain a corporate website at www.realtyincome.com. On our website we make available, free of charge, copies of our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, Form 3s, Form 4s, Form 5s, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file these reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). None of the information on our website is deemed to be part of this report.

PROPERTY PORTFOLIO INFORMATION

At December 31, 2023, out of the 13,458 properties that we owned or held interests in, 13,265 properties were vastly leased under net lease agreements. A net lease typically requires the client to be responsible for monthly rent and certain property operating expenses including property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. In addition, clients of our properties typically pay rent increases based on: (1) fixed increases, (2) increases tied to inflation (typically subject to ceilings), or (3) additional rent calculated as a percentage of the clients' gross sales above a specified level.

We define total portfolio annualized contractual rent as the monthly aggregate cash amount charged to clients, inclusive of monthly base rent receivables, as of the balance sheet date, multiplied by 12, excluding percentage rent, interest income on loans and preferred equity investments, and including our pro rata share of such revenues from properties owned by unconsolidated joint ventures. We believe total portfolio annualized contractual rent is a useful supplemental operating measure, as it excludes properties that were no longer owned at the balance sheet date and includes the annualized rent from properties acquired during the quarter. Total portfolio annualized contractual rent has not been reduced to reflect reserves recorded as adjustments to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, ("U.S. GAAP") rental revenue in the periods presented.

Top 10 Industry Concentrations

We are engaged in a single business activity, which is the leasing of property to clients, generally on a net basis. That business activity spans various geographic boundaries and includes property types and clients engaged in various industries. Even though we have a single segment, we believe our investors continue to view diversification as a key component of our investment philosophy and so we believe it remains important to present certain information regarding our property portfolio classified according to the business of the respective clients, expressed as a percentage of our total portfolio annualized contractual rent:

(1) The presentation of Top 10 Industry Concentrations combines total portfolio contractual rent from the U.S. and Europe. Europe consists of properties in the U.K., starting in May 2019, in Spain, starting in September 2021, in Italy, starting in October 2022, in Ireland, starting in June 2023, and in France, Germany, and Portugal, starting in December 2023.

Property Type Composition

The following table sets forth certain property type information regarding our property portfolio as of December 31, 2023 (dollars in thousands):

(1)Excludes 2,962 acres of leased land categorized as agriculture at December 31, 2023.

(2)Includes our pro rata share of leasable square feet of properties owned by unconsolidated joint ventures.

(3)"Other" includes 27 properties classified as agriculture, consisting of approximately 0.3 million leasable square feet and $38.0 million in annualized contractual rent and 10 properties classified as office, consisting of approximately 2.1 million leasable square feet and $27.4 million in annualized contractual rent, as well as one land parcel under development.

Client Diversification

The following table sets forth the 20 largest clients in our property portfolio, expressed as a percentage of total portfolio annualized contractual rent, which does not give effect to deferred rent, at December 31, 2023:

(1)Amounts for each client are calculated independently; therefore, the individual percentages may not sum to the total. Excludes non-rental contractual income on loans and preferred equity investments.

Lease Expirations

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the timing of the lease term expirations in our portfolio (excluding rights to extend a lease at the option of the client) and their contribution to total portfolio annualized contractual rent as of December 31, 2023 (dollars in thousands):

(1)Leases on our multi-client properties are counted separately in the table above. This table excludes 270 vacant units.

Geographic Diversification

The following table sets forth certain geographic information regarding our property portfolio as of December 31, 2023 (dollars in thousands):

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the documents incorporated by reference, contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. When used in this annual report, the words “estimated,” “anticipated,” “expect,” “believe,” “intend,” “continue,” “should,” “may,” “likely,” “plans,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include discussions of our business and portfolio; growth strategies and intentions to acquire or dispose of properties (including timing, partners, clients and terms); re-leases, re-development and speculative development of properties and expenditures related thereto; future operations and results; the announcement of operating results, strategy, plans, and the intentions of management; and trends in our business, including trends in the market for long-term leases of freestanding, single-client properties. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions about Realty Income Corporation which may cause our actual future results to differ materially from expected results. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are, among others, our continued qualification as a real estate investment trust; general domestic and foreign business, economic, or financial conditions; competition; fluctuating interest and currency rates; inflation and its impact on our clients and us; access to debt and equity capital markets and other sources of funding (including the terms and partners of such funding); continued volatility and uncertainty in the credit markets and broader financial markets; other risks inherent in the real estate business including our clients' solvency, client defaults under leases, increased client bankruptcies, potential liability relating to environmental matters, illiquidity of real estate investments, and potential damages from natural disasters; impairments in the value of our real estate assets; changes in domestic and foreign income tax laws and rates; property ownership through joint ventures, partnerships and other arrangements which may limit control of the underlying investments; epidemics or pandemics including measures taken to limit their spread, the impacts on us, our business, our clients, and the economy generally; the loss of key personnel; the outcome of any legal proceedings to which we are a party or which may occur in the future; acts of terrorism and war; and the anticipated benefits from mergers and acquisitions including from the merger with Spirit (the "Merger").

Additional factors that may cause risks and uncertainties include those discussed in the sections entitled “Business,” “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this annual report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future plans and performance and speak only as of the date this annual report was filed with the SEC. Actual plans and operating results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in this annual report and forecasts made in the forward-looking statements discussed in this annual report might not materialize. We do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date these statements were made.

This “Risk Factors” section contains references to our “capital stock” and to our “stockholders.” Unless expressly stated otherwise, the references to our “capital stock” represent our common stock and any class or series of preferred stock which may be outstanding from time to time, while the references to our “stockholders” represent holders of our common stock and any class or series of preferred stock which may be outstanding from time to time.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

In order to grow we need to continue to acquire investment properties. The acquisition of investment properties may be subject to competitive pressures.

We face competition in the acquisition and operation of our properties. We expect competition from businesses, individuals, fiduciary accounts and plans, and other entities engaged in real estate investment and financing. This competition may result in a higher cost for properties we wish to purchase.

Negative market conditions or adverse events affecting our existing or potential clients, or the industries in which they operate, could have an adverse impact on our ability to attract new clients, re-lease space, collect rent or renew leases, which could adversely affect our cash flow from operations and inhibit growth.

Cash flow from operations depends in part on our ability to lease space to our clients on economically favorable terms and to collect rent from our clients on a timely basis. We could be adversely affected by various facts and events over which we have limited or no control, such as:

• Lack of demand in areas where our properties are located;

• Inability to retain existing clients and attract new clients;

• Oversupply of space and changes in market rental rates;

• Declines in our clients’ creditworthiness and ability to pay rent, which may be affected by their operations (including as a result from changes in consumer behaviors or preferences impacting our clients operations), economic downturns and competition within their industries from other operators;

• Defaults by and bankruptcies of clients, failure of clients to pay rent on a timely basis, or failure of our clients to comply with their contractual obligations;

• Changes in laws, rules or regulations that negatively impact clients or our properties;

• Epidemics, pandemics or outbreaks of illness, disease or virus that affect countries or regions in which our clients and their parent companies operate or in which our properties or corporate headquarters are located;

• Changes in consumer behaviors (e.g., decrease in discretionary consumer spending), preferences or demographics impacting our clients' operations;

• Supply chain disruptions;

• Economic or physical decline of the areas where the properties are located; and

• Deterioration of physical condition of our properties.

If our clients do not renew their leases as they expire, we may not be able to rent or sell the properties. Leases that are renewed, and some new leases for properties that are re-leased, may have terms that are less economically favorable than expiring lease terms, or may require us to incur significant costs, such as renovations, improvements on behalf of the client or lease transaction costs. Negative market conditions may cause us to sell vacant properties for less than their carrying value, which could result in impairments. Any of these events could adversely affect our cash flow from operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders and service our indebtedness. A significant portion of the costs of owning property, such as real estate taxes, insurance and maintenance, are not necessarily reduced when circumstances cause a decrease in rental revenue from the properties. In a weakened financial condition, our clients may not be able to pay these costs of ownership and we may be unable to recover these operating expenses from them.

At any time, any of our clients may experience a downturn in its business that may weaken its operating results or overall financial condition. As a result, a client may delay lease commencement, fail to make rental payments when due, decline to extend a lease upon its expiration, become insolvent or declare bankruptcy. Any client bankruptcy or insolvency, leasing delay or failure to make rental payments when due could result in the termination of our client’s lease and material losses to us. Further, the occurrence of a client bankruptcy or insolvency could diminish or eliminate the income we receive from our client’s lease or leases. A bankruptcy court might authorize a client to terminate one or more of its leases with us. If that happens, our claim against the bankrupt client for unpaid future

rent would be subject to statutory limitations that most likely would result in rent payments that would be substantially less than the remaining rent we are owed under the leases (it is also possible that we may not receive any unpaid future rent under terminated leases) or we may elect not to pursue claims against a client for terminated leases. Claims we have for unpaid past rent, if any, may not be paid in full, or at all. Client bankruptcies within a given property may also adversely impact our ability to re-release that property at favorable terms, or at all. Moreover, in the case of a client’s leases that are not terminated as the result of its bankruptcy, we may be required or elect to reduce the rent payable under those leases or provide other concessions, reducing amounts we receive under those leases. As a result, client bankruptcies may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Any of these events could adversely affect our cash flow from operations and our ability to make distributions to stockholders and service our indebtedness.

Downturns in any of our industries could adversely affect our clients (including, for example, the recent challenges faced by our clients in the theater industry), which in turn could also have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and our ability to pay the principal of and interest on our debt securities and other indebtedness and to make distributions on our common stock and any outstanding preferred stock. In addition, some of our properties are leased to clients that may have limited financial and other resources and, therefore, they are more likely to be adversely affected by a downturn in their respective businesses, including any downturns that have resulted or may result from the COVID-19 pandemic or other epidemics or pandemics, or in the regional, national or international economy. Furthermore, we have made and may continue to make selected acquisitions of properties that fall outside our historical focus on freestanding, single-client, net-lease retail locations in the U.S. As a result, we may be exposed to a variety of new risks by expanding into new property types and/or new jurisdictions outside the U.S. and properties leased to clients engaged in non-retail businesses. These risks may include limited experience in managing certain types of new properties, new types of real estate locations and lease structures, and the laws and culture of non-U.S. jurisdictions.

As a property owner, we may be subject to unknown environmental liabilities.

Investments in real property can create a potential for environmental liability. An owner of property can face liability for environmental contamination created by the presence or discharge of hazardous substances on the property. We can face such liability regardless of our knowledge of the contamination; the timing of the contamination; the cause of the contamination; or the party responsible for the contamination of the property.

There may be environmental conditions associated with our properties of which we are unaware. A number of our properties are leased to operators of convenience stores that sell petroleum-based

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There are no unresolved staff comments.

We maintain a cyber risk management program to identify, assess, manage, mitigate, and respond to cybersecurity threats. We design and assess our program based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF) and use the NIST CSF as a guide to help us identify, assess, and manage cybersecurity risks relevant to our business. The program is integrated within our enterprise risk management system and addresses our IT networks and related systems that are essential to the operation of our business.

We maintain controls and procedures, including third-party oversight procedures, and cybersecurity training for all employees on an annual basis, which are designed to ensure prompt escalation of cybersecurity incidents so that decisions regarding public disclosure and reporting of such incidents can be made by management in a timely manner.

We work with third parties that assist us to identify, assess, and manage cybersecurity risks, including professional services firms, consulting firms, threat intelligence service providers, and penetration testing firms.

Our cybersecurity program and designated incident response team are comprised of key employees, and third-party information security experts from leading cybersecurity incident response firms, who are responsible for efficiently and effectively responding to cybersecurity incidents. We have established comprehensive incident response and recovery plans and continue to evaluate the effectiveness of those plans.

Our Cybersecurity Risk Committee, chaired by our Head of IT, and comprised of functional leaders, provides oversight, direction and guidance related to the cybersecurity risk management decisions.

We have not identified risks from known cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any prior cybersecurity incidents, that have materially affected us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. We face risks from cybersecurity threats that, if realized, are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. See “Risk Factors – We rely on information technology in our operations, and any material failure, inadequacy, interruption or security failure of that technology could harm our business.”

Cybersecurity Governance

The Board of Directors considers cybersecurity risk as part of its risk oversight function, and the Audit Committee of our Board oversees Realty Income's cybersecurity and other information technology risk exposures and the steps taken by management to monitor and control such exposures. Our cybersecurity risk profile and cybersecurity program status are reported to the Audit Committee on a quarterly basis. In addition, management updates the Audit Committee, as necessary, regarding any material cybersecurity incidents, as well as any incidents with lesser impact potential. The Audit Committee reports to the full Board regarding its activities, including those related to cybersecurity, and the full Board also receives briefings from management on our cybersecurity risk management program, as appropriate.

Our management team, including the Cybersecurity Risk Committee chaired by our Head of IT and comprised of functional leaders across the Company, is responsible for assessing and managing our material risks from cybersecurity threats. The team has primary responsibility for our overall cybersecurity risk management program and supervises both our internal cybersecurity personnel and our retained external cybersecurity consultants. Our management team has extensive experience implementing and operating cybersecurity technologies, policies, and procedures throughout various industries and includes a Certified Information Systems Security Professional with ISC2.

Our management team supervises efforts to prevent, detect, mitigate, and remediate cybersecurity risks and incidents through various means, which may include briefings from internal security personnel; threat intelligence and other information obtained from governmental, public or private sources, including external consultants engaged by us; and alerts and reports produced by security tools deployed in the IT environment.

Information pertaining to our properties can be found under Item 1.

Information regarding legal proceedings is included in note 20, Commitments and Contingencies, to the consolidated financial statements.

None.

PART II

Market Information

Our common stock is traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “O.”

Holders

There were approximately 13,800 registered holders of record of our common stock as of January 31, 2024. This figure does not reflect the beneficial ownership of shares of our common stock.

Repurchases of Equity Securities

During the three months ended December 31, 2023, the following shares of stock were withheld for state and federal payroll taxes on the vesting of employee stock awards, as permitted under the Realty Income 2021 Incentive Award Plan, (the "2021 Plan"):

The following discussion and analysis reflect our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. For a discussion of the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, please refer to Part II, Item 7. "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.

GENERAL

Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company®, is an S&P 500 company and member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats® index for having increased its dividend every year for over 25 consecutive years. We invest in people and places to deliver dependable monthly dividends that increase over time. We are structured as a REIT requiring us annually to distribute at least 90% of our taxable income (excluding net capital gains) in the form of dividends to our stockholders. The monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow generated from real estate owned under long-term net lease agreements with our commercial clients.

As of December 31, 2023, we owned or held interests in a diversified portfolio of 13,458 properties located in all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, the U.K., France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, with approximately 272.1 million square feet of leasable space to clients doing business in 86 separate industries. Of the 13,458 properties in the portfolio at December 31, 2023, 13,197, or 98.1%, are single-client properties, of which 13,007 were leased, and the remaining are multi-client properties. Our total portfolio has a weighted average remaining lease term (excluding rights to extend a lease at the option of our client) of approximately 9.8 years.

Unless otherwise specified, references to rental revenue in the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations are exclusive of reimbursements from clients for recoverable real estate taxes and operating expenses totaling $274.2 million, $184.7 million and $104.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Closing of Spirit Realty Capital Merger

On January 23, 2024, we closed on our previously announced merger with Spirit, which is further described in note 21, Subsequent Events, to the consolidated financial statements. The Spirit portfolio consisted of 2,018 U.S. retail, industrial and other properties across 49 states. With assets that are highly complementary to our existing portfolio, this transaction enhances the diversification and depth of our real estate portfolio and will allow us to strengthen our longstanding relationships with existing clients and curate new ones.

Increases in Monthly Dividends to Common Stockholders

We have continued our 55-year history of paying monthly dividends. In addition, we increased the dividend five times during 2023 and once during 2024. As of February 2024, we have paid 105 consecutive quarterly dividend increases and increased the dividend 123 times since our listing on the NYSE in 1994.

The dividends paid per share during 2023 totaled $3.051, as compared to $2.967 during 2022, an increase of $0.084, or 2.8%.

The monthly dividend of $0.2565 per share represents a current annualized dividend of $3.0780 per share, and an annualized dividend yield of 5.4% based on the last reported sale price of our common stock on the NYSE of $57.42 on December 31, 2023. Although we expect to continue our policy of paying monthly dividends, we cannot guarantee that we will maintain our current level of dividends, that we will continue our pattern of increasing dividends per share, or what our actual dividend yield will be in any future period.

Investments During 2023

During the year ended December 31, 2023, we invested $9.5 billion at an initial weighted average cash yield of 7.1%, including an investment in 1,408 properties, properties under development or expansion, investments in loans and a preferred equity investment. See notes 4, Investments in Real Estate, 5, Investments in Unconsolidated Entities, and 6, Investments in Loans, to the consolidated financial statements for further details.

Equity Capital Raising

We have an At-The-Market ("ATM") program, pursuant to which we may offer and sell up to 120.0 million shares of common stock (1) by us to, or through, a consortium of banks acting as our sales agents or (2) by a consortium of banks acting as forward sellers on behalf of any forward purchasers contemplated thereunder, in each case by means of ordinary brokers' transactions on the NYSE at prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices or by any other methods permitted by applicable law.

During 2023, we raised $5.5 billion of net proceeds from the sale of common stock, at a weighted average price of $59.79 per share, primarily through proceeds from the sale of common stock through our At-the-Market ("ATM") Program. The ATM program issuances during 2023 included 91.7 million shares issued pursuant to forward sale confirmations. As of December 31, 2023, 6.2 million shares of common stock subject to forward sale confirmations have been executed but not settled. See note 11, Issuances of Common Stock, to the consolidated financial statements for further details.

Note Issuances

In January 2024, we issued $450.0 million of 4.750% senior unsecured notes due February 2029 and $800.0 million of 5.125% senior unsecured notes due February 2034. In connection with the Merger, we also completed the $2.7 billion exchange in principal of outstanding notes issued by Spirit Realty, L.P. (“Spirit OP”). See note 21, Subsequent Events, to the consolidated financial statements for further details.

In December 2023, we issued £300.0 million of 5.750% senior unsecured notes due December 2031 and £450.0 million of 6.000% senior unsecured notes due December 2039.

In July 2023, we issued €550.0 million of 4.875% senior unsecured notes due July 2030 and €550.0 million of 5.125% senior unsecured notes due July 2034.

In April 2023, we issued $400.0 million of 4.700% senior unsecured notes due December 2028 and $600.0 million of 4.900% senior unsecured notes due July 2033.

In January 2023, we issued $500.0 million of 5.050% senior unsecured notes due January 2026 and $600.0 million o

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We are exposed to economic risks from interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. A portion of these risks is hedged, but the risks may affect our financial statements.

Interest Rates

We are exposed to interest rate changes primarily as a result of our credit facility and commercial paper programs, term loans, mortgages payable, and long-term notes and bonds used to maintain liquidity and expand our real estate investment portfolio and operations. Our interest rate risk management objective is to limit the impact of interest rate changes on earnings and cash flow and to lower our overall borrowing costs. To achieve these objectives, we issue long-term notes and bonds, primarily at fixed rates.

In order to mitigate and manage the effects of interest rate risks on our operations, we may utilize a variety of financial instruments, including interest rate swaps, interest rate swaptions, interest rate locks and caps. The use of these types of instruments to hedge our exposure to changes in interest rates carries additional risks, including counterparty credit risk, the enforceability of hedging contracts and the risk that unanticipated and significant changes in interest rates will cause a significant loss of basis in the contract. To limit counterparty credit risk, we will seek to enter into such agreements with major financial institutions with favorable credit ratings. There can be no assurance that we will be able to adequately protect against the foregoing risks or realize an economic benefit that exceeds the related amounts incurred in connection with engaging in such hedging activities. We do not enter into any derivative transactions for speculative or trading purposes.

The following table presents, by year of expected maturity, the principal amounts, average interest rates and estimated fair values of our fixed and variable rate debt as of December 31, 2023. This information is presented to evaluate the expected cash flows and sensitivity to interest rate changes (dollars in millions):

Expected Maturity Data

The following table summarizes the maturity of our debt as of December 31, 2023 (dollars in millions):

(1)In conjunction with our $250.0 million senior unsecured term loan, which matures in March 2024, we entered into an interest rate swap, and as of December 31, 2023, the effective interest rate on this term loan, after giving effect to the interest rate swap, was 3.8%.

(2)The maturity date for our 2023 term loans reflects the closing of our previous twelve-month extension option and assumes the additional twelve-month extension available at the company's option is exercised. In conjunction with closing, we executed one-year variable-to-fixed interest rate swaps, which fix our per annum interest rate at 5.0% over the initial term. Accordingly, the 2023 term loans have been presented as fixed rate debt as of December 31, 2023 in the table above.

(3)In January 2023, we issued $500.0 million of 5.05% senior unsecured notes due January 13, 2026, which were callable at par beginning on January 13, 2024. In conjunction with the pricing of these senior unsecured notes due January 2026, we executed three-year, fixed-to-variable interest rate swaps totaling $500.0 million, which are subject to the counterparties' right to terminate the swaps at any time following the 2026 notes par call date.

(4)Excludes net premiums and discounts recorded on mortgages payable, net premiums recorded on notes payable, deferred financing costs on term loans, mortgages payable, notes payable, and the basis adjustment on interest rate swaps designated as fair value hedges on notes payable.

(5)We base the estimated fair value of our fixed rate mortgages and private senior notes payable at December 31, 2023, on the relevant forward interest rate curve, plus an applicable credit-adjusted spread. We base the estimated fair value of the publicly traded fixed rate senior notes and bonds at December 31, 2023, on the indicative market prices and recent trading activity of our senior notes and bonds payable. We believe that the carrying values of the line of credit, commercial paper borrowings, and term loan balances reasonably approximate their estimated fair values at December 31, 2023.

The table above incorporates only those exposures that exist as of December 31, 2023. It does not consider those exposures or positions that could arise after that date. As a result, our ultimate realized gain or loss, with respect to interest rate fluctuations, would depend on the exposures that arise during the period, our hedging strategies at the time, and interest rates.

At December 31, 2023, our outstanding mortgages payable, notes, and bonds had fixed interest rates. Interest on our credit facility and commercial paper borrowings and term loans is variable. However, the variable interest rate feature on our term loans have been mitigated by interest rate swap agreements. At December 31, 2023, a 1% change in interest rates on our variable-rate debt would change our interest costs by $12.6 million.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rates

We are exposed to foreign currency exchange variability related to investments in and earnings from our foreign investments. Foreign currency market risk is the possibility that our results of operations or financial position could be better or worse than planned because of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. We primarily hedge our foreign currency risk by borrowing in the currencies in which we invest thereby providing a natural hedge. We continuously evaluate and manage our foreign currency risk through the use of derivative financial instruments, including currency exchange swaps, and foreign currency forward contracts with financial counterparties where practicable. Such derivative instruments are viewed as risk management tools and are not used for speculative or trading purposes. Additionally, our inability to redeploy rent receipts from our international operations on a timely basis subjects us to foreign exchange risk.

Table of Contents

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Stockholders and Board of Directors

Realty Income Corporation:

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Realty Income Corporation and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income, equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes and financial statement schedule III (collectively, the consolidated financial statements). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2023, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, and our report dated February 21, 2024 expressed an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Basis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matter

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of a critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

Evaluation of the Fair Value of Land in Real Estate Acquisitions

As discussed in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements, during 2023 the Company acquired $8.2 billion of real estate properties. As discussed in Note 1, the purchase price of a real estate acquisition is typically allocated among the individual components of both tangible and intangible assets and liabilities acquired based on their estimated relative fair values.

We identified the evaluation of the fair value of land in real estate acquisitions as a critical audit matter. Specifically, the measurement of the fair values of land is dependent upon significant assumptions of market land values for which relevant external market data is not always readily available. Subjective and complex auditor judgment was required in evaluating the fair value measurements given the sensitivity of the fair value measurements to changes in these assumptions.

The following are the primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter. We evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of certain internal controls over the Company’s process to allocate the purchase price of real estate acquisitions. This included controls over the measurement of the fair value of land. For a selection of real estate acquisitions, we involved valuation professionals with specialized skills and knowledge who assisted in evaluating a selection of the Company’s acquired land values by comparing them to independently developed ranges using market data from industry transaction databases and published industry reports.

/s/ KPMG LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 1993.

San Diego, California

February 21, 2024

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Stockholders and Board of Directors

Realty Income Corporation:

Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We have audited Realty Income Corporation and subsidiaries' (the Company) internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organiza

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None.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

As of and for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, we carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, under the supervision and with the participation of management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

Based on the foregoing, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that as of December 31, 2023 our disclosure controls and procedures were effective and were operating at a reasonable assurance level.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Internal control over financial reporting refers to the process designed by, or under the supervision of, our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and effected by our Board of Directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and includes those policies and procedures that:

(1) Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company;

(2) Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and

(3) Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for the Company.

Management has used the framework set forth in the report entitled “Internal Control--Integrated Framework (2013)” published by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission to evaluate the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Management has concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of the end of the most recent fiscal year. KPMG LLP has issued an attestation report on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Submitted on February 21, 2024 by,

Sumit Roy, President, Chief Executive Officer

Jonathan Pong, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer

Changes in Internal Controls

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2023, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Limitations on the Effectiveness of Controls

Internal control over financial reporting cannot provide absolute assurance of achieving financial reporting objectives because of its inherent limitations. Internal control over financial reporting is a process that involves human diligence and compliance and is subject to lapses in judgment and breakdowns resulting from human failures. Internal control over financial reporting also can be circumvented by collusion or improper management override. Because of such limitations, there is a risk that material misstatements may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis by internal control over financial reporting. However, these inherent limitations are known features of the financial reporting process. Therefore, it is possible to design into the process safeguards to reduce, though not eliminate, this risk.

Director and Officer Trading Arrangements

During the three months ended December 31, 2023, none of our officers or directors adopted or terminated any contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of our securities that was intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c) or any “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement.”

None

PART III

The information required by this item is set forth under the captions “Board of Directors” and “Executive Officers of the Company” and “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports” in our definitive Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A, and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this item is set forth under the caption “Executive Compensation” in our definitive Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A, and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this item is set forth under the caption “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” in our definitive Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A, and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this item is set forth under the caption “Related Party Transactions” in our definitive Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A, and is incorporated herein by reference.

Our independent registered public accounting firm is KPMG LLP, San Diego, CA, Auditor Firm ID: 185.

The information required by this item is set forth under the caption “Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Fees and Services” in our definitive Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A, and is incorporated herein by reference.

PART IV

A. The following documents are filed as part of this report.

1. Financial Statements (see Item 8)

a. Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

b. Consolidated Balance Sheets,

December 31, 2023 and 2022

c. Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income,

Years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021

d. Consolidated Statements of Equity,

Years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021

e. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows,

Years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021

f. Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

2. Financial Statement Schedules. Reference is made to page F-1 of this report (electronically filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission).

a. Schedule III Real Estate and Accumulated Depreciation

Schedules not Filed: All schedules, other than those indicated in the Table of Contents, have been omitted as the required information is either not material, inapplicable or the information is presented in the financial statements or related notes.

3. Exhibits

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None.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

REALTY INCOME CORPORATION

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

REALTY INCOME CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

SCHEDULE III REAL ESTATE AND ACCUMULATED DEPRECIATION

As of December 31, 2023

(dollars in thousands)